Intro
Cybersecurity is quickly becoming the hot topic for various reasons. Whether it's concern for one's own privacy, or security over online transactions, it is an often underestimated tenet of today's mostly online world. Online activities always expose oneself to potential malicious attacks, and so far the centralised, top-down approach of major cybersecurity platforms have worked... but nowhere near well enough.
A public database of malicious software, incidentally, would be a great step in the right direction. LevelNet's proposal is aimed at creating a platform-agnostic anti-virus product which protects its users in real-time and with a constantly updated database thanks to the synergy of the participating nodes. It is a very interesting concept and one of the few ones so far which has really caught my attention due to its imminent real-world usage. Let's delve into some more detail.
Use Case
LevelNet will first and foremost be building its own cybersecurity solution named "LevelNet Endpoint Security App" (to be referred to as the LevelNet App in the rest of this review). The LevelNet App can be installed as a standalone app on the user's device, or it can operate in tandem with existing anti-virus software applications on the user's device. This makes the LevelNet App a platform-agnostic product which can operate in harmony with any existing centralised solutions, thus boosting the effectiveness of the already-installed products. Indeed, one would envisage that the best way to build Level's malicious software database would be to encourage the installation of the LevelNet App on devices which already have an existing anti-virus running, so that any hits reported by such existing anti-viruses are recorded by the LevelNet App and made known to the nodes supporting the LevelNet network.
A solid build-up of LevelNet's database would then lead to the same app granting boosted protection to other anti-viruses. Indeed, should it meet the targets stated in the whitepaper, it would become a far more effective and efficient protective tool than anything currently on the market, since the database is not fed by a specific network of users of a particular anti-virus, but supplemented by myriad users of different anti-viruses as well as those who are using the LevelNet App in isolation.
In addition to all this, LevelNet will also be developing a white list feature, thanks to which users can benefit from added protection as they would only be able to install apps and programs from trusted and verified sources. Should the users opt to turn on this option, they would benefit from a level of security similar to that offered by Apple's AppStore, wherein only verified developers are allowed to list their products. This is an enticing options for non-tech savvy users who just want to ensure their cyber-safety.
Team
The team is primarily made from a bevvy of security-focused personnel, as may be expected after all. The CEO, Pavel Shkliaev, was previously the CEO of ICS Software Inc, another security-focused company, and the rest of the team is mostly made up of software and security engineers, which is definitely a reassuring sign. However, there is not enough focus on marketing and PR, and the only known name on the board is that of Oleksii Matiiasevych, who is acting as an escrow for the funds raised during the ICO. On the other hand, another positive note is that LevelNet has partnered with Wings for their ICO, as well as Ambisafe.
ICO details
The ICO starts on the 15th of November, and the soft cap is set at $1,500,000, with the hard cap being set at $55,000,000. The total amount of tokens to be issued will be 70,000,000, and any tokens not sold during the ICO are set to be burned. LVL tokens will be ERC20 tokens. The LVL tokens issued during the ICO may later be redeemed for LVLS tokens, which would entitle the holder of LVLS tokens to profit shares and voting rights in the LevelNet foundation to be set up at a future stage.
Fundamental score
The concept is a truly interesting one and merits a strong vote on the idea alone. It sets out to fix a real-world issue through an ad-hoc P2P protocol built by the LevelNet team. The LVL token will allow the users to benefit from the services offered by LevelNet, as well as its whole ecosystem of products. The LVL token is also clearly classified a security, as it grants IP rights to the holders as well as indirectly receiving benefits through the buyback of tokens i.e. the supply is decreased with a resulting increase in value. However, the team's focus seems to be on the back-end of stuff and not the front-end; apart from an OK website, the reach of this project is still quite short and more needs to be done to raise awareness about it. No longer does a strong concept sell the ICO; the general public needs to become aware of it as well in order to stand a chance of raising a decent amount of funds. Moreover, the Youtube videos are not up to standard, and the MVP is not available on the website despite being described as functional in the roadmap. For the reasons above, LevelNet gets a 6.5/10, subject to review should the above issues be addressed.
Trading score
This project may be a late bloomer and therefore definitely not suggested for a quick flip soon after the ICO ends and the tokens become available. This is favourable for the team, but not for short-term traders. LevelNet will also be operating a BuyBack Fund with a resulting higher liquidity to the market, similarly to what Quantum has done (https://medium.com/@LevelNetwork/maintaining-of-liquidity-of-the-lvl-token-issued-by-levelnet-283c8765ed1f). However, the hype about it is not there, unless there is a monumental marketing effort to make people aware of the very valid case-use going for LevelNet. On the flip side, the number of total tokens is quite low and quite a lot may be burned if the ICO does not sell out. For a medium-term hold i.e. up to six months, LVL tokens may yield some decent returns if the team keeps the community well-updated and sticks to the open beta deadline set in August 2018. LevelNet gets a 6.5/10 in this section.
Sentiment score
Cyber-security is a hot topic and will continue being so for a while. If LevelNet maintain their promises and come up with a state-of-the art product, then the demand may be huge. Even so, this will mostly depend on how they market their product; it needs to be made clear to the end-consumer that the LevelNet App is more advanced, cheaper, and safer than the current products on the market, and support those claims by delivering through and through. The score here is a solid 8/10.
Verdict
LevelNet gets a score of 21/30, with plenty of room for improvement should they up their game and make themselves known to the world. The concept is great, the team looks set for some serious development, and the potential disruption in the area they're targeting is real. However, today's ICOs are focusing more on the show than on the go, and LevelNet are akin to the duckling capable of turning into a swan. They just have to play their cards right... and share their prototype with the public, even if just in a severely controlled form.